This web site is dedicated to the contemporary art of Bill and Jay Hinz, whose individual styles and impacts in their respective media could each easily warrant a separate site – but the story would be incomplete. As a husband and wife team, they have spent six decades championing each other and their art. Their mutual influence has ranged from full collaboration on works to intense critique by their most respected colleagues – each other. Over time, their styles and media have converged and diverged, creating not only marked individuality, but also a quality that is uniquely "Hinz." Bill and Jay continue to spur each other on to even greater excellence in artistic expression in their studios in Springfield, Missouri.

Bill's and Jay's works are represented in hundreds of institutional and private collections. With the advent of the internet, their family, friends and fans have watched Bill's and Jay's works begin to change hands through estate sales and major private auctions. The new owners are often unfamiliar with the background and scope of the artists. They purchased the pieces for the reason that most collectors purchase fine art – it spoke to them so strongly that they wanted it to be a permanent part of their lives. The family, friends and fans of Bill and Jay Hinz created this site in June 2005 for two reasons:

to serve as an information resource for owners and prospective owners of Bill Hinz or Jay Hinz originals, and

to create a living, virtual gallery of their work that will become a work of art in and of itself, showing a lifetime of creative expression of two talented and interrelated artists as an integrated whole.

We look forward to serving as an information network on Bill and Jay and their creations. Please send comments, questions and/or digital photographs of Hinz originals to peter.hinz@verizon.net. We will publish photographs with full owner attribution (unless you request anonymity), as well as comments and testimonials. Visit the site often – it will be under constant development.

Bill & Jay Hinz –Biographies

Bill and Jay met in a design class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 1946. Both received BFAs from SAIC in two-dimensional design. They were married in 1949.

Bill's career in academia remained at SAIC for four decades, where he taught design and was Chairman of the Division of Design, the Craft Department, and finally, the Fiber/Fabric Department. He is a professor emeritus of SAIC. He received his MFA from Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, where he also taught design for several years.

Jay focused for nearly two decades on creating hooked wall hangings, which Bill and Jay marketed under Stuart-Hinz Wallhangings. She then returned to SAIC and received her MFA in art education. She taught art at the middle school, high school and college/university levels in the U.S. and Mexico for 30 years, most recently at Southwest Missouri State University. She received many major awards in art education, including the Outstanding Secondary Educator of America Award.

While teaching, both Bill and Jay continued to produce their own works, participated in exhibitions throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and produced works on commission to major collectors, including nearly 50 pieces for the International Playboy Clubs. While both focused early in their careers on hooked wall hangings (many of them designed and produced together), their media and styles later diverged, but continued to influence the other's work. Bill continued to focus on textiles, such as contemporary direct-dyed velveteen and canvas wall hangings and rugs. Jay focused on drawings and paintings (acrylic and egg tempera). Finally, Bill began to explore digital imaging, creating contemporary abstract pieces that capitalized on the larger pixels produced by early color printers.

Both Bill and Jay have received numerous awards for their work from organizations such as the American Institute of Interior Designers. They have also published works in their field, including How to Create Your Own Designs (New York, Doubleday, Inc., 1975), and have contributed to numerous other publications. They have served as active members of many art, education and art education associations, including the World Crafts Council and the American Crafts Council (both Bill and Jay); and the Illinois Education and Art Education Associations, and the National Education and Art Education Associations (Jay).

News!

May 2005: Five of Bill's and Jay's hooked wall hangings, originally created for the International Playboy Clubs, were at auction at the Heritage Gallery in Dallas, Texas.